by Anne Mercier
Faster.
Harder.
More.
Always more.
Her breath hitches.
“Give yourself to me,” I command.
I fuck her with purpose, making sure to hit her clit on the down stroke, and within minutes she’s screaming out my name.
“Yes, yes, Cage!”
Fuck yes. Her pussy squeezes me so tight, her wetness coating my cock and balls, and I can’t hold on. I’d like to get her to come again, but I just can’t. Not right now. I need her too much.
I hold her gaze and give myself to her as she just gave herself to me. “Fee,” I groan.
Her hands lift to cup my face as I come hard inside her.
I collapse on top of her, and kiss her neck.
When I can feel my legs again, I look up into her eyes, running a fingertip down her cheek.
“Always and forever yours, Fee.”
“Only ever you.”
“Look at that,” Fee says. “Five minutes to spare.” She’s all grins.
“No thanks to you and your wandering hands,” I say, reminding her about the reason we had to rush in the first place.
“Are you seriously complaining about shower sex?”
“Never. You know how Gio can be.”
She nods.
“Let’s go see what’s so urgent.”
We head into the warehouse, nodding at the guards on the way in.
“Shit,” I mutter aloud, smelling the reason we’re here before I see it.
Sera stops. “Oh God, oh God, oh God.”
“Can you do this?” I ask, not blaming her one bit if she can’t.
She nods. “I just…” She closes her eyes and steadies her breathing, building her resolve back up. When she opens her eyes, that dead look she gets in them when she needs to shut down her feelings is there—the one I wear just as she does.
“I’m ready,” she says and I squeeze her hand.
We walk to the back of the warehouse where our interrogations take place.
Giovanni’s standing, facing us, his arms folded across his chest as he talks to Damian and Ernesto. Fuck. This is going to be bad.
When we reach them, all expressions are grim.
“Jana?” Sera asks.
Damian nods.
“Where did you find her?” I ask.
“In a warehouse much like this one,” Ernesto tells me.
“Was she dead?” Sera asks.
“No,” Damian replies, meeting her gaze.
“Then, how?”
“I gave her my gun,” Ernesto tells us.
“What?” she asks in surprise.
Ernesto sighs. “She’d have done it eventually if I hadn’t let her do it there. What they did to her, Sera.” He shakes his head. “They’re on a whole other level than we are.”
“They’re sick! Depraved!” she shouts. “And I’m one of them. I hate that I have their filthy blood flowing through my veins.”
“Serafina,” Giovanni begins. “Your father was nothing like them. The blood you have is clean. Just as I came to see Tommy as a Russo, so are you. You know this.”
“Fee. Don’t doubt who you are. Not now. Not because of this. They don’t get to do that to you again,” I tell her. She looks up at me, searching, and I give it to her. The man who won’t allow her to be anything less than the Fee she’s come to be.
“I’m good,” she says. “I’m good.”
“We need to talk to the Kingstons,” Giovanni announces.
“I’ll do it,” Sera volunteers. “Not that it’ll make it any easier for them, but I’m close to them.”
“All right,” Gio agrees.
“What are we going to do about those motherfuckers?” Damian asks.
I step forward, resting my hand on Sera’s back. “Here’s the plan we’ve been working on.”
WE JUST GET the babies laid down when Sera and Cage arrive. I’m so grateful she’s started calling ahead. If she’d come ten minutes earlier, I’d be wearing puke-covered clothes and Jesse would have the stain from Kaid’s pee stream going up his chest. I snicker inside. That was hilarious. I warned him he needed to cover up the boys’ penises when it was this cold in the house, but he didn’t listen. Thinking he knows better because he has a penis of his own. Ha!
I whip my hair up into a bun. God, I need a shower. I smell like baby powder and baby puke. Not a great combination.
“Hey,” I greet when they enter the living room. Both have serious looks on their face and Sera’s carrying sadness in her eyes. I grab Jesse’s hand but he already knows. I can tell by the rigidity of his stance.
“You found her,” he says before Sera and Cage even say hello.
“We did,” Cage replies.
“How bad was it?” I ask.
“Bad. Really bad,” Sera answers.
“Is she dead?” Jesse asks.
Sera glances at me, then nods. “Yes.”
She’s hiding something. I don’t know what and I don’t think I want to. It’s probably better if none of us ever find out.
Ben walks in late with Coley and Jeni and they all pause in the doorway.
“I knew it,” Jeni cries. “I knew. I don’t know how, but I just knew.”
“I’m so sorry,” Sera says.
“You didn’t do anything to be sorry for,” Ben replies. “It wasn’t you. It was them. Tell me you’ve got something planned.”
Cage nods. “I can’t tell you what, but a plan is being formulated and put into action.”
“It won’t bring her back, but those fuckers need to get some pain. This has been going on long enough. Think of all the bullshit they’ve put us through in the last year,” Jesse bites out.
“Babe,” I soothe.
“I’m okay, Cupcake. I figured this would be what happened. I just don’t like to think of them getting away with all this shit. If they keep getting away with it, they’re going to keep doing it and each time will get worse and worse. I want them to be afraid, Cage. I don’t want to have to be afraid they’re going to hurt my kids or Luce,” Jesse rages.
“They’ll get theirs, Jesse. I can promise you this,” Cage replies. I startle a bit because Cage never promises unless he knows he can carry through.
“I don’t want to know what you’re going to do, but I want you to do it,” I confess.
Jeni’s silently weeping in the corner.
“Do you know how they got her?” Ben asks.
Sera nods. “Apparently one of the younger Manzinis met Jana on campus. They hit it off. When the Manzinis discovered who the girl was their boy was infatuated with, they told him to end it. He didn’t. They tried to see each other on the sly, but that’s impossible within any ‘family’.”
“So then…” I prod.
“Yeah.”
“Oh God,” I reply and Ben looks at me confused.
“What?”
“They made him watch them torture and rape her,” I whisper.
“They also made him participate,” Cage says.
I look up. “What?”
“Jesus Christ,” Jesse growls. “It was innocent. They were just two people dating.”
“But the Manzinis turned it into something else completely,” Jeni adds.
“They did,” Cage agrees. “And they will pay the price.”
We all sit there in silence. Xander comes walking down the stairs with one baby strapped to his chest and another to his back.
Sera bursts into laughter. “What is going on here?”
“Uncle Xan Man is taking care of Kaid and Konnor and I got thirsty,” he tells her with a grin.
“Oh God, this is great,” she says, laughing. “I didn’t think I could laugh today, but this…” She grabs her stomach. “Someone, take a picture. This needs to go up on Facebook, Instagram, and sent to the press!”
Jeni’s snickering through her tears, Ben and Cage are both just shaking their heads.
“You trust him with your kids?” Ben asks.
“I trust him with my life,” Jesse replies.
“But your kids—”
“He burps Kierah better than I do. He has a crib in his room. He’s got a Diaper Genie! I didn’t even know what a Diaper Genie was!” I exclaim.
Ben’s grinning now.
“Uncle Xan Man is awesome,” Xander says, walking into the kitchen.
“That…” Cage breaks off. “I got photos.”
Sera stands on tiptoe and kisses his cheek. “You’re so good to me.”
“Oh, Fee, these aren’t for you. These are for me to share. There’s never been something I’ve wanted to share more than I want to share this,” Cage explains, his lips twitching.
Sera narrows her eyes. “You got a video!”
Cage smirks and winks at her.
She laughs some more. “This is too good.”
“I’m so glad we have him,” I tell everyone. “He gave us a reason to smile when we all wanted to cry.”
Jesse nods and pulls me into his side.
“I’m so fucking mad about Jana. It tears me apart inside. But then I think of our babies and how life goes on even when yours stops. I’ll never forget her. Never,” Jesse vows.
“We’ll get her justice,” Cage replies.
Xander comes dancing into the room, Justin Bieber on his iPod. He starts to sing about someone who needs to love themselves. I glance over at Cage and I see that sly smirk as he holds up his phone.
There’s never a dull moment around here.
Three days before Christmas…
“Luce.”
I turn to see Xander standing in the doorway, a bag over his shoulder.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“I’m going to be gone for two days. I’ll be back for Christmas.”
“Are you going to New York?” I ask.
He nods. “I am. This is part of my working my shit out. You’ll be all right with the babies?”
“Oh, Xander. We’ll be fine. You go and do what you need to do,” I whisper, walking to him and giving him a hug. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
“Me too, Luce. Me too.”
Continue reading for A Very Xander Christmas 2, Rockstar #6.5—A Rockstar Christmas—Told Xander Style… as well as the guest author chapters from some of my favorite authors!
©2015 Anne Mercier
“I HOPPED OFF the plane in NYC with a dream and a plan for love,” I sing softly, the hum the melody as I grab my bag from the back of the taxi. I pay the cabbie who drove like a fucking lunatic—just the way I like it in New York—and head toward the front steps of the building.
“Mr. Mackenzie. It’s nice to see you again,” the doorman greets.
“Thanks, Dan. Good to see you too.”
“Will you be staying a while?”
“Until tomorrow afternoon. Not nearly long enough.”
He gives me a wry grin. “Maybe someday.”
I shrug. “If that day ever comes, she’ll be coming to me.”
I walk through the lobby and head to the elevator. I’m glad she’s got such great security. It makes me feel better knowing she’s protected even when I’m not here. The thought also frustrates the hell out of me. She should be with me.
I step off the elevator and pause, straightening my clothes, running a hand through my hair, and readjusting the bag over my shoulder. I’m not nervous, just anxious. Yeah. Every time I see her, I get this way. Only her. Only she can do this to me.
I knock on the door to Tera’s loft. She opens the door a few minutes later, covered in paint—like always, her hair a mess up on top of her head, annoyance at being interrupted flashing in her eyes until she realizes it’s me. She drops the paintbrush and cloth she was using to wipe her hands and launches herself at me.
I let out a laugh.
“Xander!” she shrieks, and I bury my nose in her neck. She smells like turpentine and paint and vanilla. Eau de Tera. “What are you doing here?” she asks, pulling back to kiss me on the lips.
Instead of answering, I hold the back of her head deepening the kiss. Every second of every day that I’m away from her, I miss her. Now here she is, in my arms, and I’m going to enjoy every second.
I slide my tongue along the seam of her lips, and she immediately opens, moaning when my tongue delves inside to brush against hers. I reach down and cup her ass, pulling her further into me, my cock already hard. All it takes is a look.
Tera threads her fingers into my hair and tugs a bit. A growl escapes and I back her into her loft, kicking the door shut behind me. I fumble for the locks—it is New York after all—and drop my bag to the floor.
“Tera,” I whisper as I kiss along her cheek, her jaw, down to her neck where I nip the tender flesh between my teeth.
“Xan,” she moans, tilting her head back, giving me easier access.
“I need you,” I confess.
She pauses, looking up into my eyes. “No more than I need you.”
We stare at one another for a few seconds, saying so much without a word, and we both snap. We’re ripping clothes off one another, throwing them across the room, and then I’m lifting her up, she’s wrapping her legs around my waist and I’m backing up toward the sofa.
I sit down slowly, positioning my cock at her entrance, and she takes me inside her body where she’s wet and hot. I groan, she moans, as she takes more and more of me with each lift and lower of her hips. Her top teeth pull on her bottom lip, her eyes glazed with desire as they stare deeply into mine. And my heart—my heart is beating fast and furious—for her. Only for her.
When her wetness touches my balls, she pauses, the tip of my cock hitting her deep inside.
“What are you doing here?” she asks again.
“Bringing you your Christmas present,” I tell her with a wink.
“Best present in the world,” she moans as she wiggles her hips.
“Well, that too,” I say with a laugh.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispers, wrapping her arms around my neck, and hugging me close. I hold her the same way, and then she begins moving. The heat—the wetness—she feels so damn good. When she lifts, the friction against my cock, the texture of her inner walls has me groaning aloud.
After a few minutes, I need more. I lift my hips off the sofa when she comes down, going deeper and deeper inside her and she cries out. My Tera calls out my name.
“Faster, baby,” I growl.
She obliges, lifting and lowering herself, faster, harder, and her wetness dripping down onto my balls.
“You feel so fucking good, T,” I tell her. “So damn wet.”
“Mmm,” she moans, grinding her clit down against me.
“I want you to come for me, T. Come on my cock. Show me how much you’ve missed me.”
She moves even faster, and so fucking good—too good. I’m going to come soon and I don’t want to go without her. I adjust my position and pull one of her nipples into my mouth, sucking and tugging just the way she likes.
“Oh yes, yes, Xander, don’t stop,” she calls out. I wouldn’t stop now if the pope himself walked into the room. No god damn way. She’s too close. Her walls pulsing around my dick, her hair coming out of its pins, her cheeks flushed, her lips bruised, her eyes fiery with passion.
Her pussy begins to clamp down around me—son of a bitch—and her breathing is coming in fast pants filled with moans of pleasure.
“Come, baby,” I order, biting her nipple gently, and she moans long and low. After a few more thrusts up deep inside her, her tight pussy begins to convulse, her body vibrating. She screams out my name at her peak and I let myself go.
“Tera,” I growl, coming hard—so fucking hard—inside her, the pleasure filling my body with each pulse of cum that she draws from my body. “Christ, so good,” I moan as the last of her orgasm ripples through her, bringing out that last little bit of ecstasy from me I didn’t know was there.
“Mmm, Xan,” she purrs as she falls on top of me.
>
I trace random patterns across her bare back as we come down and regain our breath.
“Tera.”
“Xan.”
“I love you.”
She sits up and meets my gaze, her eyes filled with wetness. “I love you too, Xan.”
“Are you almost ready?” I ask, and she knows I don’t mean to go again, though my cock is getting his second wind.
“Almost. I’m working hard, Xan. I want us together as much as you do,” she assures me.
“I know, T. It’s just so fucking hard.”
She nods. “It’ll be worth it in the end. I promise.”
“I know that, too. That’s what gets me through our time apart.”
She grins. “Do you want to see my work? Or—” she trails off, wiggling her hips, “you ready for more?”
I can’t fight the grin. I flip her onto her back and thrust into her. “Let’s do this again, and then you can show me your creations.”
Okay, so we fucked, showered, fucked in the shower, finished showering, ate some eggs and toast, and then we looked at Tera’s paintings.
“When is your showing?” I ask as I browse the multi-colored canvases, appreciating the beauty of each.
“Three weeks,” she replies. “Do you think you can make it?”
I look at her over my shoulder. “Have I ever missed one?”
She grins. “No.”
“I won’t start now.” I browse some more. “Have you looked into galleries in LA and San Diego?”
“I have.”
My head whips in her direction. There is no hiding the surprise and happiness filling me right now. “Yeah?”
She nods. “There are some that would be great. The owner of the gallery I work with now, knows the owners of a few out there. It wouldn’t be difficult to get shows.”
“That’s because your paintings are phenomenal, T. You’ve been so ‘on’ lately. Your work reflects your moods, I think. There’s less blurring,” I guess.
She shrugs as she stands next to me looking at an abstract painting. “Maybe. I don’t know. This is just what comes out.”
“It’s beautiful,” I say honestly. “I’m proud of you. You’ve worked so hard.”
